No prospect of breakthrough, but government optimistic, sources say

The Union government began a fresh round of
negotiations with leaders of the largest Naga insurgent group on
Thursday, hoping to hammer out a political settlement to the decades-old
conflict ahead of Lok Sabha elections next year.

Former
Petroleum Secretary and Nagaland Chief Secretary R.S. Pandey, the Union
government’s interlocutor, met with the top leadership of the National
Socialist Council of Nagland — Isak-Muviah, or NSCN-IM, represented by
its chairman Isak Chishi Swu and general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah —
the latest in a series of closed-door negotiations that have continued
for more than fifteen years.

Neither side made
statements after today’s talks, which are expected to continue for
several days. Prior to leaving Kohima, Mr. Swu refused to speculate on
the outcome of the negotiations. Mr. Muviah said that “we want a
solution as soon as possible.”

The talks, have been shrouded in secrecy, but a senior government official told The Hindu,
centred around a deal which would give Naga communities in both
Nagaland and Manipur similar substantial rights across State lines — but
without territorial concessions from Manipur on Naga-inhabited areas in
the districts of Tamenlong, Senapati, Ukhrul and Chandel.

“In
essence,” the official said, “the best-case outcome would be a deal
which created a institutional mechanism to give Naga communities across
the region full recognition and rights, but without redrawing state
boundaries.”

“There is no immediate prospect of a breakthrough, but the government is optimistic,” he added.

Pressure on NSCN factions

Pressure
has been mounting on the NSCN-IM since early this year, which some
experts believe could bring a deal within reach. Notably, there have
been growing protests in Nagaland against the parallel taxation
structure insurgents use to fund their operations. Thousands defied
NSCN-IM calls to rally in Dimapur on November 1 under the banner of the
Action Committee Against Unabated Taxation to protest against taxes
imposed on underground organisations on salaries, businesses and
contractors.

Former Indian Administrative Service
officer and social activist K.K. Sema said the protests were organised
“not to fight with any underground faction but to reason with them that
there has to be the rule of law.”

Formations
like the NSCN-IM came under further pressure in May, when the Nagaland
government was reported to be considering granting tribal status to the
Mao Nagas — a legal decision that brings with opportunities for
government employment and benefits. The Maos already have tribal status
in Manipur.

However, the move encountered resistance
from some Naga tribal groups within Nagaland—a development with direct
repercussions for the NSCN-IM, whose leadership are made up of Tangkhul
Nagas, whose lands are mainly in Manipur.

Though the
State government later denied it was granting the Mao tribal status, the
issue led to friction between the Naga Tribal Alliance, a newly-formed
association of tribes within Nagaland, and the Naga Hoho, which claims
to speak for all Nagas.

Manipur, Assam and Arunachal
Pradesh have passed resolutions in their assemblies that no territory
will be given up for a Greater Nagland, and New Delhi fears it could
stoke the ethnic-Meitei insurgency in Manipur.

Frequent
clashes have taken place over the issue. In 2011, Mr. Muivah was forced
to defer a visit to his ancestral village of Somdal in Manipur’s Ukhrul
district, after it generated a standoff at the Mao Gate on the
Nagaland-Manipur border.